2,000-year-old tombs from Roman period found in Egypt

A handout picture released by the Egyptian Antiquities Ministry shows a sarcophagus which was in one of three tombs that were discovered at cemetery dating back about 2,000 years in the al-Kamin al-Sahrawi area in Minya province, south of Cairo. / AFP PHOTO / EGYPTIAN ANTIQUITIES MINISTRYSource:AFP

A SERIES of 2,000-year-old tombs, from the time when the Romans controlled Egypt, have been discovered by a team of archaeologists in Egypt.

Located south of Cairo, the large tombs contained multiple burial chambers and had vaulted roofs — one even had a roof built in the shape of a pyramid.

Artefacts found in the tombs included mummy masks, pieces of inscribed pottery known as ostraca and giant containers that held wine and olive oil.

Head of the antiquities ministry Ayman Ashmawy said each of the four sarcophagi found in one tomb had been sculpted to depict a human face.

“[The team found] a collection of sarcophagi of different shapes and sizes, as well as clay fragments,” he said in a statement.

EGYPT: Archaeologists Unearth Ramses II Colossus March 090:30

Archaeologists believe they have unearthed a giant statue of Pharaoh Ramses II. Egyptian and German archaeologists discovered the eight-metre colossus buried in mud. Credit: Ministry of Antiquities via Storyful